Plymouth Whalers

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Plymouth Whalers
founding 1990
resolution 2015
history Detroit Compuware Ambassadors
1990–1992
Detroit Junior Red Wings
1992–1995
Detroit Whalers
1995–1997
Plymouth Whalers
1997–2015
Flint Firebirds
since 2015
Stadion Compuware Sports Arena
Location Plymouth , Michigan
Team colors navy blue, white, green & silver
league Ontario Hockey League
Conference Western Conference
division West Division
Head coach Don Elland
General manager Mark Craig
owner Peter Karmanos
Memorial Cups no
J. Ross Robertson Cups 1994/95 , 2006/07

The Plymouth Whalers were a junior ice hockey team of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The franchise was founded in Detroit in 1990 and was based in Plymouth from 1997 to 2015 before moving to Flint, Michigan .

history

In the mid-1970s, Compuware founder and president Peter Karmanos and his business partner Thomas Thewes founded the Detroit Compuware Hockey Organization, which consisted of all age groups in junior hockey. The senior team played in the North American Hockey League . The team included later NHL stars such as Eric Lindros , Derian Hatcher , Pat LaFontaine , David Legwand and Doug Weight . The program was so successful that it was decided to go to a higher division.

Karmanos had previous experience in the OHL as he owned the Windsor Spitfires for several years . Karmanos was awarded the contract to build a franchise in Detroit and named the team Detroit Compuware Ambassadors . It became the first team in the league to be based in the United States . The first year in the OHL was less positive. They lost most of their games and ended the season last. For the 1991/92 season they moved to the Joe Louis Arena , which is also home to the NHL team Detroit Red Wings . The regular season went better than last year and they reached the playoffs , but were eliminated in the first round.

After the season, the team was renamed Detroit Junior Red Wings . The team was finally able to gain a foothold in the OHL and played a very good 1992/93 season and made it to the semi-finals of the OHL playoffs. But there they had to admit defeat. In 1993/94 the team was able to improve again. After they were in first place in their division in the regular season, they moved into the final of the J. Ross Robertson Cup , the championship trophy of the OHL, but were defeated there by the North Bay Centennials .

In the fall of 1994 there was a labor dispute in the NHL and there were no games until January 1995. The beneficiaries of this situation were the Detroit Junior Red Wings, who had an outstanding season and drew people to the Joe Louis Arena. They set a record attendance for the OHL, which still holds today. The Junior Red Wings moved into the OHL final again and this time emerged as the winners. The team had thus qualified for the finals for the Memorial Cup . The Memorial Cup is the championship trophy of the Canadian Hockey League , which is owned by the QMJHL , the Western Hockey League and the OHL. The champions of the three leagues as well as the host of the finals are qualified. The Junior Red Wings fought their way to the finals and lost there against the Kamloops Blazers .

Saginaw Spirit vs. Plymouth Whalers

After Peter Karmanos failed to buy the Detroit Red Wings NHL team, the relationship between the two teams ended and the name was changed to Detroit Whalers , based on the NHL team Hartford Whalers , which Karmanos replaced a year earlier who bought Detroit Red Wings. Associated with the name change was the move to another ice rink. There you could build on the performance of the previous year in the regular 1995/96 season, but the semi-finals of the playoffs was the end of the line. In 1996 the Whalers moved into their newly built Compuware Sports Arena in Plymouth. A restructuring began in the team, which is why the sporting success in 1996/97 did not materialize. In the first round of the playoffs, the team was eliminated.

In the summer of 1997 they took the last step away from Detroit and renamed themselves Plymouth Whalers . After the restructuring, things went uphill again and you could get to the playoff semi-finals. 1999/00 you could reach the final of the OHL for the first time again, but lost there to the Barrie Colts . The following year they were in the final again, but this time they failed because of the Ottawa 67’s .

In 2007 the Whalers were able to win the OHL championship for the first time with a 4-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves . Since 1997 the Whalers have always had a positive victory record.

In January 2015, owner Peter Karmanos announced the sale of the team to Flint (Michigan) , where it will henceforth trade under the name Flint Firebirds .

successes

J. Ross Robertson Cup
OHL Champion
  • 1994/95 , 2006/07


Wayne Gretzky Trophy
Western Conference Playoff Champion

  • 1999/00
  • 2000/01
  • 2006/07

Hamilton Spectator Trophy
Season Champion

  • 1998/99 106 points
  • 1999/00 95 points
  • 2001/02 92 points
 Bumbacco Trophy
West Division Champion
  • 1994/95
  • 1995/96
  • 1998/99
  • 1999/00
  • 2000/01
  • 2001/02
  • 2002/03
  • 2005/06
  • 2006/07
  • 2011/12
  • 2012/13

player

First-round draft picks

Draft year player as team
1991 Brian Rolston 11. New Jersey Devils
1991 Pat Peake 14th Washington Capitals
1993 Todd Harvey 9. Dallas Stars
1995 Bryan Berard 1. Ottawa Senators
1998 David Legwand 2. Nashville Predators
2000 Justin Williams 28. Philadelphia Flyers
2001 Stephen Weiss 4th Florida panthers
2001 Jason Bacashihua 26th Dallas Stars
2010 Tyler Seguin 2. Boston Bruins
2011 Stefan Noesen 21st Ottawa Senators
2011 Rickard Rakell 30th Anaheim Ducks
2012 Tom Wilson 16. Washington Capitals
2013 Ryan Hartman 30th Chicago Blackhawks

Other former players

Web links

Commons : Plymouth Whalers  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files